Walter Braunfels (1882-1954)
Three Chinese Songs, Op.19
to Hans Bethge's The Chinese Flute
Romantic Songs, Op.58
to Poems of Clemens Brentano & Joseph v. Eichendorff
The God-Serving Soul, Op.53
to Poem of Mechthild von Magdeburg
The Death of Cleopatra, Op.59
Scene based on William Shakespeare
Four Japanese Songs, Op.62
In the Adaptation by Hans Bethge
Genia Kühmeier
Camilla Nylund
Ricarda Merbeth
Konzerthausorchester Berlin
Hansjörg Albrecht, conductor
Braunfels regarded himself as a late-romantic, traditional composer in succession to Berlioz, Wagner and Bruckner. During the period of the Third Reich, he was dismissed from his positions as a "half Jew" and his works were banned from performance. After the Second World War, representatives of the musical avant-garde found Braun-fels's style no longer contemporary, which is why he gradually became forgotten. His entire oeuvre has been enjoying a wonderful Renaissance since the 1990s, how-ever, and is now being enthusiastically rediscovered by the international musical world.